We’re coming up to the beginning of May and the start of Brenda Novak’s diabetes auction! I’ve donated a gift basket full of my favourite things this year and it’s only available for a single day! Mark May 5th on your calendars!

Basket contents: The winner of this auction will receive a gift basket from author Jade Buchanan that includes her HORSFALL anthology (trade paperback) plus books from some of her favorite authors:

Trade Paperback Of HELL’S END by Ally Blue
Paperback Of MIDNIGHT CRAVINGS by Vivi Anna
All four (4) paperbacks in the COFFEE CREEK Series by CJ Carmichael
Three (3) trade paperbacks by Lauren Jameson including BREATHE, BLUSH and SURRENDER TO TEMPTATION

That’s right, boys and girls, the long awaited Wilde City Press anthology Butt Ninjas From Hell is coming out tomorrow, April 16th. This thing is crazy fun, y’all. Funny, sexy, exciting, sexy, sweet, sexy and most especially, SEXY. Heh. Lots of awesome talent in this book. Just check the list of authors!

My own contribution is called Twerk It, about the epic, forbidden love between a demon slayer and the magic-ass (literally) demon he’s meant to slay. Or, maybe more about their hot monkey love and revenge and stuff. Read on for blurbage and an excerpt. Enjoy!
(and yes, I know I’ve been MIA lately; reasons are many and varied, and I shall try to do better…)

Porn stars, holy emissaries, demons, and even just plain humans—ninjas come in all forms and from all kinds of Hell in this erotically charged comedic Wilde City anthology! Whether it’s the world of second-rate television, fluttering ninja stars, obsessions over a bronzy-olive toned soldier, or magic backsides, your authorial guides will take you where few readers have ever dared to go…without protection.

What happens when a demon slayer goes hunting in Hell? Twerk it, baby.

L’lousche is a minor sex demon with short-shorts, tall boots, a Hell Kitty t-shirt and a magic backside. When he shakes that ass, no soul in Hell or on Earth can resist the urge to sin. Not even the demon slayer who’s supposed to kill him.

—

He’d swallowed the last delicious bite and was sipping the special satanic brew—orders of magnitude better than anything you could get up top, which was just all kinds of wrong—when a vision of twinky sexiness swayed over to his table on thigh-high black leather platform boots with red flames up the sides and leaned on the closest chair, one slender hip popped sideways.

“Well, hi there, beautiful stranger. Mind if I sit?”

Hugo stared the demon up and down, from the long black and red striped bangs hanging over his ruby red eyes, down the slim dancer’s body clad in a glittering red cropped top with a demonic cartoon cat’s head on it, to the red and black short-shorts barely covering his groin. In fact, now that he looked closer, Hugo saw the shorts were made entirely of mesh, except for a strip of leather cradling the demon-twink’s privates.

The shirt said Hell Kitty.

Rawr.

Hugo smiled wide. “Pretty thing, you can sit wherever you want.”

Those gorgeous lips curved into a smile Hugo wanted to lick. “Oh. Thank you very much indeed.” Pushing away from the chair, Hell Kitty skirted the table and settled his pert rear right on Hugo’s lap.

Hugo figured he shouldn’t have been surprised. Demons loved to pull shit like that.

Not that he was complaining. That was one sweet ass right there. Besides, maybe this little hottie would be willing to help him find L’lousche. As long as he didn’t say why he wanted him, of course. Satan’s minions tended to be protective of each other. Another surprising thing about the netherworld.

Hell Kitty cocked his head sideways and examined Hugo’s face. “I haven’t seen you here before. Believe me, I would’ve noticed.” He touched both tips of his naturally forked tongue to his top lip, eyes gleaming with all sorts of sinful promises.

Goddamn. When he was done with this job, Hugo was definitely fucking this one. Demons were usually, well, demons in the sack, and Hugo was willing to bet Hell Kitty here would be better than most.

“It’s my first time here.” Hugo caressed one round, firm ass cheek with his free hand, resulting in a low hum and an eye-crossing butt wiggle. “I think I like it, though.” He grinned and gave Twinky-Demon’s bottom a squeeze.

The gem-red eyes staring into his went to half-mast. Kitty’s voice dropped low. “I guarantee you’ll like it, handsome.” He rested one almost-too-hot palm on Hugo’s cheek and swooped in for a kiss.

Hugo had never kissed a demon before. Fucked them once or twice. Let them suck him off more times than he could count. Those forked tongues? Oh, Mama. But this was the first time he’d kissed one.

Won’t be the last, he swore to himself as Twinky’s tongue wound around his in ways no human’s could while that luscious bubble butt rocked against his swelling dick.

Christ, he was gonna come right here if they didn’t stop. Lucky for him, you didn’t get in trouble for that in this neck of the woods. Still, coming with his cock up Hell Kitty’s ass would be way more fun than jizzing his pants.

Later, said the part of his brain that wanted the other half of his twenty grand. Work first. Sex later.

Regretfully, he broke the kiss and pulled away enough to meet the sexy little devil’s fuck-me gaze. “Hey, can you help me find somebody that’s supposed to be here? I need to give him a message. Then maybe you and I can find someplace private, huh?”

Demon Kitty smiled a smile busting at the seams with marvelously evil things. “I’m sure I can help you, hot stuff. I know everybody.” He tilted his head and used his devil tongue to tickle the inside and outside of Hugo’s ear at the same time. “Who’re you looking for?”

“A minor demon of sex and mischief.” Hugo ran his hand up kitty boy’s slender back. The heat of the demon’s skin radiated through the thin shirt. “His name’s L’lousche.”

For a second, Hell Kitty’s spine tensed, and Hugo wondered—too late, of course—who exactly he was talking to. Then the crowd erupted into cheers and screams, and Hugo leaned around the sexy thing on his lap to see what the deal was.

A tall, curvy, stunning woman with black hair striped in orange curling down to her black-leather-clad ass stood beside the DJ, surveying the room as if it were her personal kingdom. Which of course it was.

The DJ grabbed his mic in one gilded claw and shouted over the noise. “All right all right all right, demons and damned ones, monsters and ghosts and heavenly hosts, humans and aliens and creatures of all kinds, welcome to Hell’s Belles. Hope y’all’re having the time of your afterlife!”

The throng wooed. Some said yeah. Others hollered no, though they sounded pretty drunk. Hugo kept quiet and enjoyed the show.

The DJ laughed. “We have a very special guest tonight, folks. Satan herself has come to party with us!” He swept a lobster-like appendage toward Satan, who smiled and bowed for the screaming crowd. “And now, we’re gonna play some dance music, ‘cause guess what? Satan said dance y’all!”

A roar like nothing Hugo had ever heard before shook the walls. A dance song several years old thumped from the speakers. It took Hugo a moment to recognize it.

He laughed. Satan Said Dance. Funny.

Hell Kitty swiveled toward him, red eyes glowing in the black lights the DJ seemed to like. “Let’s dance. C’mon.” He hopped off Hugo’s lap and held out a hand.

Hugo knew he ought to say no. He ought to demand that his new friend tell him where to find his mark, then get the hit out of the way before he took this thing any further. But he was starting to get a sinking feeling about this whole business, and dammit, what was wrong with having a damn dance first?

Yikes, time flies. We’ve all been a bit quiet on here lately but that’s mostly because we’re all writing! Which in the long run is a very good thing!

It’s the Oscars tonight, and in salute to entertainment I give you a piece of what I’ve been writing lately. I’ll let you guess which book it’s from…

Unedited excerpt:

Rick was going to kill the kid if he didn’t stop shaking his ass like it was for sale. One of Rick’s brothers started to move in and Rick growled subvocally. Ben decided he had better things to do and made a beeline for the bar instead. Rick grinned. Yeah, he still had it sometimes. He returned his gaze to the kid on the dance floor. The little bastard moved like a porn star, hips moving to the beat and grinding against anyone who got too close. On a night like this, that was a whole hell of a lot of people.

He’d had his eye on the little one for a few months now. He wasn’t sure why he was still waiting to approach the kid, but that right there might be a good enough reason. He was barely out of diapers compared to Rick. Legal sure, or he wouldn’t be in this place. Wolf Creek Bar and Grill had a reputation to hold and there was no way in hell Rick was going to let some underage kid in to ruin things for his family.

But, the kid was still young even if he was over 19. Didn’t stop him from being just about the hottest thing Rick had ever seen. His lithe body was just muscled enough to make things interesting, and his face could make angels weep. Or maybe it was just Rick. Regardless, the pink, pouty lips combined with a dark gaze was really working. Rick had never seen the kid without a hat, so he wasn’t sure about the hair color, but his eyebrows were a neutral brown so that gave him a bit of a clue.

Right now his lean frame was clad in a pair of skin-tight jeans with a black tank and a cowboy hat to finish things off. His feet were encased in cowboy boots, which made Rick wonder where the kid was from. He looked a little too country to be from the Island originally, but then again there weren’t too many people in this room that were originally from Vancouver Island anyway. Campbell River, British Columbia seemed to draw in a mix of locals and outsiders, thanks to the various businesses that made their home here. Plus, they got a bunch of retirees the same as most of the other small communities along the edge of the Island.

“If you’re so caught up in him, why don’t you just make a move?”

His brother, Ben, had finally made his way over to Rick where he stood behind the bar.
Rick raised a brow and turned his attention to the wineglass he was polishing.

“Come on, Rick. Half the folks in here are terrified to approach the kid because you glare and threaten them, and the other half can’t tell that you’re a threat and are going to move in on the kid before you can make a move. What’s the deal?”

“There’s no deal.”

“Do you know who he is?”

He let out a trickling growl, just enough to have the people around him backing up a few paces and Ben deciding once again he needed to be somewhere else. Rick should feel bad for making his brother run off like that, but he couldn’t find it in him. The alpha wolf inside him was just too wound up.

Image included because 1) it reminds me of when my dad used to try (unsuccessfully) to explain calculus to me when I was in college, and 2) Thor and Loki! Rawr.

Alrighty then. As you know — because I told you last week, ha! — the 2nd book in the Mojo Mysteries series, A Ghost Most Elusive, was released on Jan. 21st. Since I’m too busy worrying about the stupid snow to craft a witty and scintillating post tonight, I’m jumping off the new release to give y’all an update on my upcoming releases and works in progress. Gird your loins, loyal readers! LOL.

- Coming from Wilde City Press this spring: Butt Ninjas From Hell, a multi-author anthology of short stories involving Hell-ninjas, all with tongue firmly in cheek (or… somewhere… heh), all hot and funny and fun. Here’s a teeny teaser for my contribution, Twerk It:

L’lousche is a minor sex demon with short-shorts, tall boots, a Hell Kitty t-shirt and a magic backside. When he shakes that ass, no soul in Hell or on Earth can resist the urge to sin. Not even the demon slayer who’s supposed to kill him.

Stay tuned for more on that :)

- Coming from Samhain in June: Hell On Earth, book 2 in the Hellscape series. Wait ’til you see the cover!!! I can’t share it yet, because it hasn’t gotten the thumbs up from the marketing department, but WOW. Seriously. It is GORGEOUS. Here’s the blurb though, for your reading pleasure :D

Two prisoners. One forgotten planet. A secret that twists justice beyond all recognition.

All Sandman wants is to get away from his violent past on Hell’s End, but trouble follows him, leaving him with more blood on his hands and a one-way ticket aboard a crewless prison transport on a pre-set course for Deimos.

By the time he realizes the transport’s actual destination is a mystery, there’s only one other prisoner he can trust. He doesn’t like it, or the things Vijay makes him feel. Caring makes you weak. Makes you easy to hurt. And Sandman’s never been easy, or weak.

Vijay is focused on what he’s always done best. Survival. But Sandman is an enigma, fearless in battle yet terrified of tight spaces. Vijay finds himself longing to break through the fierce young warrior’s shell.

After crash landing on an uncharted planet, they stumble on the justice system’s dirty little secret—the Farm, where prisoners go in but never come out. When the Farm’s threat gets personal, Sandman and Vijay each test the limits of endurance to protect the man at his back—and in his heart.

(Warning: This book contains spaceships, soldiers, good guys, bad guys, solar system politics, and a one-eyed Gutter with an attitude)

- Currently in progress: Down, a horror-slash-dark-romance involving scientists and miners 7000 meters under the ocean, and things that might or might not be real. I have to say, this damn thing is HARD. Not in a sexytimes way — though there’s a little bit of that — but in a DIFFICULT way. But I don’t care. I am having a blast writing it, because I’ve been reading horror ever since I learned to recognize words, and I’ve always wanted to write it. Whether it ever sells or not, this is a dream come true for me, because guys, this book is fucking GOOD.

- Next up, I need to write the third Mojo Mystery. The question is, what to write? I think for this book I’ll need to up the stakes for my boys, but I haven’t yet figured out how to do that. I sort of hate to mess with their relationship, but it may become necessary. We shall see…

Hello, lovely readers! Did y’all miss me? I’ve been MIA for WAAAAY too long, I know. Life and all that. Now I’m back with a new release — A Ghost Most Elusive, book 2 of the Mojo Mysteries series from Samhain Publishing, in which my boys Greg and Adrian land themselves in the middle of a spooky, dangerous mystery. Why, yes, I did read Nancy Drew growing up, why do you ask? LOL.

You can buy the book on Samhain at a discount this week, or as always on Amazon or your other favorite 3rd party vendor. Read on for the blurb and an excerpt. WARNING FOR HOT SEXYTIMES! Enjoy!

What’s a guy supposed to do when his mojo’s a no-go?

Adrian Broussard has always considered his ability to talk to ghosts a mixed blessing. Until the night he and his man, Greg Woodhall, find the body of an elderly neighbor. The woman’s ghost whispers murder, then refuses to speak to Adrian again.

She does, however, try to communicate with Greg. An unexpected twist that leaves Adrian grappling with a green-eyed jealousy monster—and he has no idea how to vanquish it.

For Greg, his first experience with talking to a ghost is part fun, part terrifying. Beyond that, he simply wants to help the woman he’d befriended in life. At least Adrian’s just as eager to solve the case, which is good. Because things get real weird, real fast.

Figuring out whodunit isn’t going to be easy, especially with a ghost who seems to be speaking in tongues. But neither of them anticipate the revelations they reveal as they dig deeper into the case. Or the danger those revelations unleash.

May 2014 be the best and brightest for all of us. May we find love, success and happiness. May we be challenged to be better, more honest and more open with our affections. May we be creative, daring and willing to learn new things. And may we live life to the fullest.

I saw a tutorial for Christmas balls and had to try it. I’ve done something similar before, where you fill the clear glass ornaments either with paint or I’ve even curled printed texts from books before. But this one was for nail polish and I have a ton of it at home. And this gives me an excuse to buy new polish. It’s pretty simple. You just take the glass ornaments that you can remove their tops (I get mine at Michaels) and pour about 1/4 to 1/2 a bottle inside and swirl it around until it is completely coated. Pour any excess back into the bottle and rest them upside down in an empty egg carton to dry and let any polish drip out. A few I did twice, once with a glitter polish and then a solid colour behind it. Voila. I’m going to tie mine to gifts to give to friends and family :)

And yes, that is Mr. Blue Balls checking out the ornaments in the background.

I cannot believe it’s already December! Where the heck has this year gone? The good news is that I already have my Christmas shopping done, but the bad news is that that’s about all I have done so far.

I had my Calgary RWA Christmas party yesterday and it was a fabulous time to chat with friends, open a few gifts and eat a ton of great food. But, we also do goal setting and it was a great opportunity to look at what we wrote down for our goals last year and to see how far we got. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t accomplish all of my 2013 writing goals. I definitely fell behind on the novel and three novellas that I had planned, but I still have a month to go so I’m hoping I can finish the current WIP before Christmas and finish the year at two out of four, which would be better than the single novella I’m sitting at right now.

So far 2014 looks to be at least as busy with the day job as this year so my main goal for the coming year is to do a bit of career planning to see if I can plan specific times to write. I need a bit more balance!

I’d like to do another conference, GRL if I can manage it or something else if I can’t. And I judge the RITA awards every year so that’s on my 2014 goals as well.

On the writing side, I’d like to finish Broken Distance and at least two novellas. If I can’t finish Hedgehog in the next month then I’ll have to add that to 2014 as well.

Other than that, I want to go on another big trip, spend time with friends and family and enjoy the year! Seems doable ;)

My latest release, Long the Mile, is now available from Riptide Publishing and all your favorite third party vendors. Yay! It’s part of Riptide’s awesome Home For The Holidays collection of Christmas stories. Twenty percent of the proceeds from each story, as well as the total collection, are going to the Ali Forney Center for LGBTQ homeless youth in New York City. I would love for every single reader out there to buy ALL the books and raise LOTS of money for the center. You can also donate directly, if you want. Information is on their website.

I’m including an excerpt below, for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sometimes it takes losing everything to find what you really need.

When Judah went to prison for insider trading, he lost everything he thought was important: his business, his money, his power. But when he gets out, homelessness strips him of the one thing he has left: his self-respect. When another homeless man saves him from a beating, he begins to learn to rely on the goodness of those around him.

For Toby, life on the streets has become familiar. Comfortable. So comfortable he wonders if he’s given up on changing his life for the better. Then comes Judah. Formerly rich, newly homeless, all his pride and attitude gone along with his material possessions. Helping Judah feels good. Their unexpected connection—physical and beyond—feels even better.

Their shared situation nurtures a growing closeness that blossoms into something deeper. But when change comes knocking, it will take all their strength to keep fear and insecurity from tearing them apart.

On nights like this, good weather and warmer than usual for mid-December, Toby often slept outside. A young, healthy man like him with no children to look after would be fine in a park, a vacant lot, or sharing a friend’s tent someplace. Others needed the city’s limited shelter space more than he did.

What did it say about him, he wondered, that he accepted MayBelle’s invitation to stay not because the Holy Innocents shelter was only half full that night, but because Judah would be sleeping in the next cot over?

Laying wide awake three and a half hours later, staring at the ceiling and listening to the sounds of snores and soft breathing all around him, Toby figured he’d have gotten more rest if he’d stayed in Pritchard Park. Or maybe in the church’s sanctuary. Because he sure as shit wasn’t getting any damn sleep in here. Not with Judah right there, close enough to touch. All he had to do was reach out his hand and he could brush Judah’s fingers where they lay softly curled over his palm, or run his thumb over the dark stubble rapidly becoming a beard on Judah’s sharp jaw.

Fucking hell. Why couldn’t the man have kept being a snob and a jackass, and not gone sliding down into real-human-being territory?

A low sound of distress came from Judah’s cot. Worried, Toby rolled onto his side and studied Judah’s sleeping face. The plump lips that had distracted Toby all through dinner were parted with breaths coming too fast. His eyes darted side to side beneath his lids. Sweat had soaked through the short black strands at his hairline. At least his bandage still looked clean and dry.

As Toby lay there watching Judah dream and wondering if he was all right, Judah jerked and let out a quiet oh. His eyes opened. For a moment, he stared at whatever after-images his nightmare had left in his brain. Then he blinked, turned his head, and focused on Toby. The corners of his mouth tipped up. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Toby wanted to reach across the space between the cots and touch Judah, but since he didn’t know how that would be received he reined in the urge. “Bad dream?”

“You could say that.” Judah rubbed both hands over his face. “God.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

Judah shook his head. “I don’t really remember the details anyhow.”

The man sleeping to Toby’s right grumbled something unintelligible and rolled over. Lowering his voice to a whisper, Toby leaned closer to Judah. “Hey, if you can’t go back to sleep just yet, we could head to the kitchen for some hot chocolate or something. I’m having trouble sleeping myself, to tell the truth.”

Judah lowered his hands, twisted sideways, and met Toby’s gaze. “That would be wonderful, actually. Are you sure that’s all right?”

“Yeah, of course.” Toby grinned to hide his reaction to the unexpectedly shy, hopeful look in Judah’s eyes. He found this side of Judah dangerously appealing, though he wished the man hadn’t had to lose his home for that part of him to come through. Toby rose to his feet and held a hand down. “Come on.”

He half expected Judah to ignore the offer of a hand up, but after a second’s hesitation he kicked free of the blanket, clasped his fingers around Toby’s, and used the leverage to stand. He swayed a little. In the low light, Toby saw Judah’s throat work.

Using his legitimate worry as a reason, Toby sidled closer and slipped his free arm around Judah’s waist. “Whoa. You okay?”

“I’m fine.” Judah backed away, dropping Toby’s hand with a glare. “I know you’re only trying to help, and I appreciate it, but I’m not an invalid.”

Toby raised both hands, palms out. “All right. You just looked like you were about to pass out, that’s all. No offense meant.”

“I know.” Judah shut his eyes. In the low light, the shadows of his lashes looked like bruises. He opened his eyes again and cut Toby a remorseful glance. “I’m sorry. I’m in a terrible mood, but that’s no reason to take it out on you. Especially after you basically saved my life.”

“No problem, man. Who could blame you for being kind of grumpy?” More restless grumbling from the cot next to Toby’s made him drop his voice low again. “Let’s go before we wake someone up and get in trouble.”

Judah flashed a grin that Toby decided he was willing to do a lot to see again, as often as possible. “I’m right behind you, Toby.”

Good Lord, the sound of his name in Judah’s low, velvety voice did interesting things to Toby’s insides. Not trusting himself to speak—or touch Judah, or hell, even look at him right now—Toby concentrated on leading the way through the rows of cots to the doorway into the fellowship hall.

Once they’d both gotten out of the sleeping area and Toby shut the door behind them, he switched on the light and waved a hand toward the tables closer to the kitchen. “Go on and take a seat. I’ll fix us some hot chocolate.”

“Let me help.” Judah brushed his fingertips over Toby’s arm. “Believe it or not, I know my way around a kitchen.”

Studying Judah’s face, Toby did believe it, though he couldn’t have said why. Judah struck him as the sort of guy who would’ve employed a cook before the bottom fell out of his rich-boy world.

Instinct warned Toby not to ask. He had a feeling that would end this friendly little chat pretty damn quick.

He clapped Judah on the back. “You get the milk and a saucepan. I’ll hunt up the chocolate.”

Judah’s wide, gorgeous smile made an encore appearance, and Toby had to look away. They were getting along great right now. He didn’t want to ruin it by throwing Judah down on one of the cheap-ass tables and shoving his tongue down his throat.

The milk was easy—who didn’t know what a refrigerator looked like?—but Judah impressed Toby by finding the saucepans within thirty seconds, which wasn’t always easy even for the people who volunteered here all the time. While he searched through the cabinets for the powdered hot chocolate mix he was sure MayBelle had hidden away somewhere, Toby watched Judah pour milk in the pan, turn on the heat, and stir. He had to admit the man seemed pretty comfortable at the stove.